Hanover held an unusually-located news conference at the back of St. Patrick's Cathedral before the funeral of Cardinal John O'Connor; visibly trembling, she said, "I will be supportive of Rudy in his fight against his illness, as this marriage and this man have been very precious to me." The following day half the press tried to stake out Nathan's known locations while the rest pestered Nathan's hometown relatives in Hazleton, Pennsylvania; Giuliani looked weak in a public appearance. On May 10, Giuliani held what The New York Times described as an "extraordinary, emotional news conference" in Bryant Park to announce that he was seeking a separation from Hanover, saying, "This is very, very painful. For quite some time it's probably been apparent that Donna and I lead in many ways independent and separate lives." Regarding Nathan, Giuliani said "I'm going to need her now more than maybe I did before", making reference to his battle with cancer and her background in nursing. Regarding the Senate race, he again did not commit to a decision, saying, "I don't really care about politics right now. I'm thinking about my family, the people that I love and what can be done that's honest and truthful and that protects them the best. I'm not thinking about politics. Politics comes at least second, maybe third, maybe fourth, somewhere else. It'll all work itself out some way politically." Giuliani had, however, neglected to inform Hanover in advance of his announcement; her reaction was described as distraught. Three hours later, she held her own news conference at Gracie Mansion, where she said, "Today's turn of events brings me great sadness. I had hoped to keep this marriage together. For several years, it was difficult to participate in Rudy's public life because of his relationship with one staff member." In this, she was making reference to Cristyne Lategano, the former communications director for Giuliani; Vanity Fair had reported in 1997 that Lategano and Giuliani were having an affair, which both of them had denied. Hanover continued, "Beginning last May, I made a major effort to bring us back together. Rudy and I re-established some of our personal intimacy through the fall. At that point, he chose another path." State Republican leaders, who until now had avoided talk of replacements for Giuliani should he not run, now gave more attention to the matter, with the state party convention coming